i believe president obama's victory on november 6 was very decisive and pretty definitive. during the campaign president obama very clearly laid out his vision and the american people strongly affirmed his position. the president won all but one of the swing states. 62% of the electoral college, and carried the popular vote by more than 4.5 million votes. democrats added to our numbers in the house and senate, and captured the house popular vote by more than a million votes. in february of 2010, president obama began the process to reduce our deficit by establishing the simpson-bowles commission. since that time, many bipartisan groups have made recommendations on how to reduce the deficit. and they have all been in agreement. you need a balanced deal that requires shared sacrifice from all americans, including the wealthy. in 2011 we began to reduce the deficit, but we did it entirely through spending cuts. over $1.5 trillion and have asked nothing of the most fortunate. in 2012 the american people spoke. it is time for balance and shired sacrifice, and the first step is t